Real Characters

A humor series featuring New York's best storytellers, humor writers, memoirists and comedians

SXSW (a sidenote)

Sidenote: REAL CHARACTERS host Andy Ross will be performing at SXSW in Austin this year. Which is rad and by all objective accounts a big deal. He’ll be part of “And I Am Not Lying,” a terrific storytelling & variety show run by past REAL CHARACTERS contributor Jeff Simmermon.

The show is March 10th at 4pm, but there will be activities all day. Here is the full schedule, with details about the events and performers:

Don’t worry, Andy will be back in time for the next REAL CHARACTERS show on March 14th at 7pm at McNally Jackson Books. Is it still called jet setting when you do it only once every like five years? We’re gonna go ahead and still call it jet setting.

SAVE THE DATE - MARCH 14

…for, let’s face it, the best night you will have had in months. Our March REAL CHARACTERS will bring you the following writers and storytellers in one big star-studded, hilarious, charismatic evening:

Simon Doonan (Creative Ambassador-at-Large of Barney’s, author of Gay Men Don’t Get Fat),
Mike Doughty (musician, author of The Book of Drugs),
Julieanne Smolinski (GQ, xojane, twitter’s @BoobsRadley)
Steve Zimmer (The Moth Podcast)
and
Colin Nissan (McSweeney’s, The Paris Review)

Don’t just mark that date on your calendars, tattoo it. If you find yourselves anyplace else that evening, you will have found yourself in the wrong place. Let’s all make some better decisions with our lives, shall we?

Wednesday, March 14 at 7pm
McNally Jackson Books
Prince and Lafayette Streets in SoHo
Free

Update to Feb 8 Show

We’ve added master storyteller Martin Dockery to the February 8th show. If you’ve never seen him before, you’re in for a real treat. Martin has told stories at just about every English-speaking Fringe festival in North America and Europe. And, he was the featured headliner at the 2011 London Storytelling Festival.

We’re excited to nab Martin before he jets off to perform in Australia for three months. Catch him while you can.

Chris Gethard was on Conan last night promoting his new book A Bad Idea I’m About to Do. Come see him read from that very book at the next REAL CHARACTERS show - February 8th at 7pm, McNally Jackson Books in SoHo.

FEBRUARY 8th AT 7PM

Save the date for the next REAL CHARACTERS show. This month’s lineup features:

Chris Gethard (The Chris Gethard Show, author of A Bad Idea I’m About to Do)
Juliet Hope Wayne (The Moth Radio Hour)
Teddy Wayne (McSweeney’s, author of Kapitoil)
and
Lang Fisher (The Onion News Network)

UPDATE: Now also featuring Martin Dockery (The London Storytelling Festival headliner)

Hosted by Andy Ross. Produced by Ann Marie Lonsdale.

Wednesday, February 8th at 7pm
Mcnally Jackson Books
52 Prince Street - at Lafayette Street in SoHo
B, D, F, M, 6, N, R & J trains
Free

Get there early to get a seat and some free wine. Stay for the sheer joy of it all.

Congratulations to last night’s REAL CHARACTERS performers—Ophira Eisenberg, Jillian Lauren, Starlee Kine, Frank Lesser, and Larry Doyle. They all presented amazing, hilarious stories and humor pieces in front of our largest audience ever. It was a terrifically funny night. Thank you all.

Congratulations to last night’s REAL CHARACTERS performers—Ophira Eisenberg, Jillian Lauren, Starlee Kine, Frank Lesser, and Larry Doyle. They all presented amazing, hilarious stories and humor pieces in front of our largest audience ever. It was a terrifically funny night. Thank you all.

BREAKING (& GREAT!) NEWS! Next week’s storyteller and all-around hilarious comedian, Ophira Eisenberg, has just been named the host of NPR’s new quiz show Ask Me Another. Such a big deal she is! Come see her at REAL CHARACTERS on January 11th, and then attend a live taping of Ask Me Another at the Bell House in Brooklyn starting January 23rd.

BREAKING (& GREAT!) NEWS!

Next week’s storyteller and all-around hilarious comedian, Ophira Eisenberg, has just been named the host of NPR’s new quiz show Ask Me Another. Such a big deal she is!

Come see her at REAL CHARACTERS on January 11th, and then attend a live taping of Ask Me Another at the Bell House in Brooklyn starting January 23rd.

Wednesday, January 11th at 7pm

You guys, remember to come out to McNally Jackson for the first REAL CHARACTERS of 2012! The lineup is spectacular, the books are discounted, there’s free wine… I know, I’m having a hard time believing it, myself!

Larry Doyle (The New Yorker, author Deliriously Happy: and Other Bad Thoughts)
Ophira Eisenberg (Moth StorySLAM host)
Jillian Lauren (author of Pretty and Some Girls)
Frank Lesser (writer for The Colbert Report, author of Sad Monsters)
and
Starlee Kine (This American Life)

Mcnally Jackson Books
52 Prince Street, NYC
Free

Naked-Santa Spectacular

Vanity Fair Magazine has pulled together a terrific group of humor writers for its 2011 Naked-Santa Spectacular. Super funny stuff all around.

And, guess what? So far, four of the contributors—Jane Borden, Rachel Shukert, Mike Sacks, and Sara Barron—have been each up at REAL CHARACTERS in the past year. Terrific taste, Vanity Fair, if I do say so myself. (I do, by the way.)

Keep checking back next year. Maybe a few more names from their list will show up at to read at REAL CHARACTERS.

SAVE THE DATE - JANUARY 11th!

Real Characters returns after the holidays with a spectacular lineup of readers and performers:

Larry Doyle (The Simpsons, The New Yorker, author of I Love you Beth Cooper and Deliriously Happy: and Other Bad Thoughts)
Ophira Eisenberg (Moth StorySLAM host)
Jillian Lauren (author of Pretty and Some Girls)
Frank Lesser (writer for The Colbert Report, author of Sad Monsters)
and
Starlee Kine (This American Life)

Wednesday, January 11 at 7pm
Mcnally Jackson Books
52 Prince Street, NYC
Free

Real Characters Makes the Tin House Blog

The terrifically funny and moving Courtney Maum attended or performed at over 200 reading series in New York since April, and she chose Real Characters as one of her favorites on the blog for Tin House.

She’s one of our favorites, too.

The Best!

Last night’s REAL CHARACTERS was the best one yet—a terrific finish to the 2011 season of shows! Thank you to all the performers and audience members for being there.

We’ll be taking December off, but I’ll put up video clips of past shows and news about upcoming performers here throughout the month. So, stay tuned.

Also, make sure to come to all new shows starting in January every 2nd Wednesday of the month at McNally Jackson. New authors, bigger stories, old favorites. If the Mayans were right, we’re going to go out with a bang in 2012.

Thanks so much,
- Andy

Late Breaking News

The November 16 show has added Sue Galloway of 30 Rock, UCB, and SNL’s Weekend Update.

So, the lineup was super amazing before, and now it’s ridiculously, bonkers, fantastically amazing. (I’m pretty good at hyperbole.)

Join us, won’t you?

Save the Date

Make sure you set aside the evening of November 16th for the next REAL CHARACTERS at McNally Jackson. We’ll have yet another (I know, right?!) terrific lineup of storytellers and humorists, including:

Adam Wade (17-time Moth StorySLAM Winner),
Diana Spechler (author of Skinny and Who By Fire),
Courtney Maum (Slice Magazine, Literary Death Match),
Alice Bradley (finslippy.com, co-author of Let’s Panic About Babies!),
and
Dana Rossi (The Soundtrack Series)

Update: Sue Galloway (30 Rock, SNL’s Weekend Update) will be joining the show as well. Terrific stuff.

7pm
McNally Jackson Books
52 Prince Street
Near the 6, B, D, F, M, N, & R trains
Free

Thank you to our October performers: Michael Kupperman, Nick Vatterott, Ted Travelstead, George Gordon, and Matt Mercier.

Also, to our intrepid producer, Ann Marie Lonsdale (pictured next the devilishly handsome Devil)

Photos courtesy Yvonne Brooks.